Letters to the Editor

First annual Persian Cultural Show was a success

To the Daily:

We've got a big campus, so although it was disappointing to me, I was not surprised to see that the Daily was unable to cover the First Annual Persian Cultural Show, which took place this past Friday, Mar. 26.

The show was comprised of musical performances, classical and modern dances and skits that we decided best portrayed the Iranianculture of which we are all so fiercely proud.

The Persian Students Association played the role of the little train that could, for when the show began, there was standing room only in the Michigan Ballroom, which seats 500! I am writing to share my wishes for a Happy New Year with the students of this campus (our new year begins with the first day of spring), and to let the Daily know to watch out for us next time around, because it's only going to get better.

Lilly Rana Ghahremani

LSA senior

NATO must find political solution to Kosovo crisis

To the Daily:

The NATO air strikes against Serbia are a major policy mistake. They began at the wrong time and for the wrong reason. Western nations failed to prevent the genocide in Bosnia and are trying to make up for it in Kosovo. Unfortunately, their actions look like an aggression against a sovereign nation.

No self-respecting country, whether democratic or authoritarian, would sign a treaty that places foreign troops on its territory; neither did Milosevic. As far as Serbs are concerned, they are dealing with a terrorist group trying to split up their country.

The conflict is similar to Kurds in Turkey or Chechens in Russia; neither of these countries got bombed. The international community has no reason to support Albanian nationalism over Serbian nationalism; as long as there are no occurrences of genocide, it should not interfere in the domestic affairs of a sovereign nation. Up until the air strikes began, there were no reports of any considerable civilian casualties among the Albanians; media reported a few thousand dead, mostly among Kosovo rebels and Serbian troops.

The fact that the action is being conducted by NATO (a military organization with limited membership) rather than by UN (a political organization with almost universal membership) makes it seem more like an aggression and less like a humanitarian effort, while at the same time undermining the authority of the U.N. The strikes will not accomplish anything, but give Serbs an excuse to pursue ethnic cleansing, create a refugee problem, cause civilian casualties and provide Milosevic with support of those Serbs who had previously opposed his oppressive regime.

Bringing in ground troops will only worsen the situation. The best thing NATO can do now is stop the air strikes and pursue a political solution to the Kosovo problem.

Maxim Adelman

Rackham

Ellerbe's program deserves 'U' support

To the Daily:

I am writing in response to Joseph Spak's Mar. 30 letter to the Daily, "An open letter to Tom Goss."

To request the firing of Brian Ellerbe after two years is absolutely absurd. Although the team finished second to last in the Big Ten, bad years are not unprecedented in Michigan history. Yes, everyone enjoyed the exuberance of the Fab Five, but does anyone remember the team that played the year before the Fab Five? It was a miserable team, led by none other than Demetrius Calip. This, however, led to one of the best recruiting classes of all time.

Now that Ellerbe is in a similar situation, he is getting his first real chance to recruit. And he has been quite successful. Jamal Crawford, the player of the year in Washington, is joining Kevin Gaines from Las Vegas, Leland Anderson from Massachusetts and Gavin Groninger from Indiana. This class is not the same caliber as the Fab Five, but no class ever will be. Ellerbe still has a shot at LaVell Blanchard from Pioneer and Jason Parker from North Carolina. With the addition of this class, basically Ellerbe's first recruiting class, he can build on what he has started with Josh Asselin, Peter Vignier and Brandon Smith.

I think it is pretty obvious that Ellerbe is starting to turn things around. To give up on him now would be pointless. Winning the inaugural Big Ten Tournament is a testament to his ability to coach. He also picked UConn to beat Duke. I say we give him at least four more years, so he has a chance to develop the talent he is bringing in next year. Go Blue! Go Ellerbe!

Andrew Blair

LSA senior

04-02-99