To the Daily:
I find it a shame that in last Thursday's article about the head of DPS retiring ("DPS head announces retirement"), no mention was made of how DPS attacked students at last year's Ohio State football game. The article only mentioned his positive accomplishments and I feel he deserves some form of scrutiny.
This guy was the head of DPS last year when students were pepper sprayed and beat senseless for trying to rush the field after the Michigan-Ohio State game. Due to his position, he must have had a hell of a lot to do with that. I'm upset that no actions were taken against those officers and anyone responsible for their orders.
The University needs to realize that we are college students, and we like to stand and yell and rush fields at football games. We only get a few years to do this before we either move away and can't attend games or have to sit on our asses so the 80-year-old $1 million donor behind us can see. Seeing the ushers at Notre Dame help students onto the field after they beat us two weeks ago made me even more pissed off about DPS's actions last year.
DPS officials argued that students would be hurt because of the drop onto the field, yet no one was injured from the drop. Notre Dame's stadium has the same drop, so instead of macing kids, they helped them down.
Leo Heatley did not deserve to be portrayed as such a great man just because he's retiring. He should have been held accountable for the brutal actions of his officers.
Mike Khomutin
Engineering senior
To the Daily:
I wanted to give a hearty thank you to the Daily. Thanks for encouraging all of the U of M's new students to drink and try to get away with it ("No RA In Sight," 9/17/98). Not only that, but thanks also for encouraging them to avoid their resident advisor no matter what. Thanks also for brazenly displaying pictures of alcohol in a residence hall room, along with people drinking in their room.
So at least we all now know what it takes to get away with as much drinking as possible. Thank heavens!
Let me say this: I do not want to be the one to find that passed-out person in the hallway. I do not want to be the one to take that unconscious person to the hospital. I do not want to be the one who watches them become permanently brain damaged or perhaps even die. I've seen it happen.
As an RA myself (having also been a freshman in the residence halls not so long ago), I feel it is my responsibility not to get people in trouble but to ensure the health and safety of residents in the hall. I don't want to catch people in the act, but I also don't want to have things get out of hand. I also don't want to find people trying to hide their drinking. Basically, I'd rather people watch out for their health and safety. If that means one less night of drinking per week, so be it.
What I am also saying is that by the Daily advocating ways of getting away with drinking, it is also advocating ways of continuing alcoholic habits. And the more people feel like they can get away with something, the more they will do it. Eventually, one of three things will happen.
One: Someone they know personally will get seriously hurt, and that will cause them to rethink their own habits. Two: They will get caught and perhaps slow down their rate of drinking. Three: They will end up in a hospital for any number of reasons.
That said, I again want to thank the Daily for advocating underage drinking. By its actions, perhaps we will see more people in the emergency room. Perhaps, also, we will see RAs more concerned about their residents and more likely to keep a watchful eye.
Who knows? All I know is that the Daily's article was careless and unfortunate.
Luke H. Klipp
LSA junior
To the Daily:
I am writing in response to the numerous posters I have seen around campus from a student group called the Palestine Catastrophe Committee. The posters advertised an event to view a film by a Palestinian activist as well as stating various statistics that criticize Israel's dealings with the Palestinians. The posters also claim that after the showing of this film there would be an "open discussion" with the audience. Unfortunately, this film and open discussion was closed for most Jews on campus as it took place on Sept. 21, the second night of Rosh Hashana, one of the holiest nights of the year for Jews. Thus a fair and open discussion regarding this sensitive situation in the Middle East was impossible.
Don't get me wrong. I am fully supportive of any group on campus that fights for what they believe in. One cannot deny that the Palestinian people are suffering. But the cause of their suffering should not be discussed in a unilateral debate.
The group limited a fair dialogue about this matter by presenting their views under the guise of an open discussion when many (but definitely not all) of the people with a different perspective on the situation observed a religious holiday. This is simply ridiculous.
There are many students on this campus who have strong views on both sides of the debate regarding Israel and the Palestinians. There is no reason why they cannot be discussed when neither side has a religious obligation to fulfill. I challenge members of both sides to get together and discuss these pressing issues of our time and not to limit fair discussion by excluding the other side.
Micah Peltz
LSA sophomore
To the Daily:
The editorial "Affirmed" (9/17/98) is filled with misinterpeted statistics.
The editorial exerpts a study on affirmitive action at 28 highly selective colleges. According to U.S. News and World Report, there are only about 35 "highly selective universities," so the study has no adequate control. The second problem is that the editorial doesn't address the fact that affirmitive action occurs in at least as great of numbers in graduate schools, most specificly business, law and medical schools. If these schools continued to give minorities an edge in admission, their enrollment numbers should be inflated.
If the Daily is going to write in defense of affirmitive action, it has to find a defense, not create one through misused statistics.
Charles Burhans
Engineering first-year student
To the Daily:
In response to the article "Hockey ticket prices hit all-time high" (9/17/98), I have an idea for the Athletic Department.
Now that the University will be making thousands of extra dollars from students thanks to the new "competitively priced" hockey tickets, I would like to suggest how to spend it. How about a big yellow plastic ring around the outside of Yost, with big yellow letters that say "Hey Goalie, its your mom!"
Matthew J. Thompson
Medical School
09-22-98
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