Letters to the Editor

Mental illness is a social movement

To the Daily:

After a week of events for Mental Illness Awareness Week, I want to acknowledge and thank the Daily for playing a role in promoting awareness and education about mental health and mental illness.

Historically, the only information that the media has disseminated about issues regarding mental health has been negative and stereotypical. In the past two weeks, however, the Daily has risen above such narrow-minded and stigma-producing thinking, by printing three well-written articles about the stigma surrounding mental illness and about the events on campus for MIAW.

In organizing these events, Mentality's goal was and is manifold. Among others, the major reasons were to promote and create awareness about the realities of mental health and mental illness, to educate students about the many available mental health resources, to support and give a voice to those with mental illness, and to "break the silence" and create a dialogue within our own community about mental health. To suffer from a mental illness is enough of an isolating experience on its own; we hope to create a dialogue so that the experience of a mental illness doesn't have to be compounded by the present need to hide it. In addition, the more comfortable that people feel with the true concepts that mental health is something that everyone has, that mental illness doesn't discriminate and that there is no shame in seeking help, the more likely it is that people will recognize potential threats to their mental health before the threats become problems.

Again, we applaud and thank the Daily for helping us to raise these issues, and we also thank all of those who attended and expressed interest in the week's events. As the Daily's Sept. 30 editorial said, "Get involved and stay informed. Mental illness may not feel like a social movement, but it is. It's everyone's responsibility."

Julia Klein

RC sophomore

SAT is accurate method for comparing students

To the Daily:

I have to strongly disagree with the Daily's Oct. 7 editorial "Strive for Equality."

I can't believe they are considering implementing a system where the students are put into categories based on 14 criteria (such as household income, ethnic background, etc). The SATs serve as a means to compare all students on the same scale. Some people do better on it than others - that's life. We as a society can't continually try to level the playing field. When you apply to college, they look at where you're coming from. Colleges know the backgrounds of the applicants already, and they factor these criteria into their decisions. But because affirmative action is coming under more fire, the Educational Testing Service has decided to come up with its own form of affirmative action in the SATs itself.

Now, under the proposed system, people are only graded against people in their own category. It's incredible how sheltered some people are in this world. It is unrealistic to create a system that attempts to level the playing field for everyone. Universities in this country are the only group that would ever consider such an action.

In the real world, people are graded on performance. At work, when a supervisor writes your review, it is based on your performance - not on your performance compared to other people from a specific ethnic group and background that you happen to be in. Yet the ETS wants to start grouping people together to make the system as fair as possible. Well, the system isn't always fair. That's the way it is. This has nothing to do with diversity. This has everything to do with changing how we as a society evaluate people: Do we evaluate people based on who they are and what they've done (current system), or do we evaluate people based on where they came from and people who are similar to them (proposed system). Sooner or later you're going to have to be graded against everyone, and not just the people who are from your socioeconomic background.

It is time we put a stop to this fairy tale world that some people wish to create and welcome everyone to reality.

Mike Dauber

Engineering senior

Affirmative action detrimental to 'U'

To the Daily:

As a true advocate of civil rights, and one who would like to uphold the constitutional belief that both all men are created equal and that equal rights and opportunities should not be denied to anyone, I am a staunch believer in the fact that affirmative action must go. This is, in part, in response to the Daily's editorial "The verdict is still out" (10/6/99).

Wah, wah, cry, moan, tear. I am sick and tired of hearing people at the University whine and complain about how we must maintain diversity by any means necessary.

Since its inception, affirmative action has done nothing but detrimentally affect this University. Sure diversity has increased, but at what cost? At the cost of more qualified applicants who have lost their chance to attend a high ranking university such as the University. Just because someone is a minority does not mean they deserve the right to attend the University. (By the way, I do understand all the factors that go into the admissions process here, and I fully comprehend that race is not the only determinant.)

Many of the people you and I attend class with everyday are only here because they took spots away from more qualified applicants. And I am not saying that they do not deserve the right to higher education (just maybe not here). Nor am I saying that this is an elitist institution, but it does attempt to maintain some degree of excellence. So why turn away excellence in favor of diversity?

My apologies to those minorities here who do excel on a daily basis, and who, even with the disintegration of Ann Arbor, would still be here. Thanks also, though, to those of you who should not be here. The curve in Econ would not have been the same without you. Mark another one up on the transcript.

Dustin Lee

LSA sophomore

Muir's column was stereotypical

To the Daily:

I would like to thank The State News' Pat Muir for his wonderfully insightful comments in his Oct. 7 column, "A2 not as diverse as you'd think." It's nice to know that someone in today's society is still able to stereotype people (in case you can't tell, I'm being sarcastic). If this is the way Muir sees the world, I suggest that he talk to the American Nazi party or the KKK - they're always looking for new recruits.

Erik Zempel

Engineering junior

MSU student: Campus vandalism was 'childish'

To the Daily:

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize to the students, staff and faculty at Michigan.

The defacing of your campus was nothing more than a foolish and childish prank. Though we cannot be sure that it was current Spartan who did it, I feel compelled to apologize on behalf of the student body who oppose to this kind of rebellious and misguided behavior. My best friend is a 1997 graduate of the University, so I know and appreciate the tradition and value of the "M" on your Diag and also maintaining the beautiful buildings on your campus. There are always individuals that take a situation too far and ruin it for 40,000 others. So please accept this one apology.

Eric Drain

Michigan State senior

10-11-99