Letters to the Editor

Go ahead, throw your vote away

I found David Horn's column ("Kodos, Kang, Clinton, Nader and pop machines at lunch," 10/17/00) to be very interesting. Horn's use of a Simpson's episode to persuade our vote at first seems very inticing. However, I feel very sorry for Horn; it seems that he missed the end of that episode:

Kodos: It's true, we are aliens. But what are you going to do about it? It's a two-party system; you have to vote for one of us.

Man 1: He's right, this is a two-party system.

Man 2: Well, I believe I'll vote for a third-party candidate.

Kang: Go ahead, throw your vote away.

Reid Wainess

LSA Sophomore

Spartan attends game and leaves town disgusted

To the Daily:

Often I hear from friends in Ann Arbor about how much more sophisticated life is at the University of Michigan, and how us "Cow College" folk are doomed to a life of management at McDonald's. It's all in good fun, however, and we all know that none of it is meant to be hurtful or derisive.

Saturday, however, my roommate and I attended the football game involving our two teams in Michigan Stadium and left completely disgusted. If Ann Arbor is truly more sophisticated than East Lansing, then please let me be a cheap beer-swilling, lazy, dirty redneck any day of the week.

We took seats in the student section, among a couple other MSU fans and the rest of the University student body. We were then pelted with a rain of garbage, filthy names, derogatory comments and the stadium security attempted to deny us our seats when we paused for a moment to decide how best to navigate through the packed crowd. I was hit in the face with a large cup full of pop and soaked to the bone. A little of this pop spilled onto an older man in front of me, who turned around and informed me that my roommate and I were a disgrace. We were the disgrace. Us, dripping with pop, pelted with half-eaten marshmallows and pizza boxes were the disgrace. At one point, a young man in the stands behind us nearly started a fist fight with one of our fellow Spartans next to us, and after breaking the fight up, we decided it was time to leave. We weren't watching a football game. We were enduring a kind of punishment.

There have been times when Ann Arbor had some things over East Lansing. I've often felt that it was just as nice a place, if not better in some respects. The downtown area is beautiful, the Huron River is a wonderful sight to behold. However, the people leave something to be desired. I've come to the conclusion that while anyone is free to walk the streets of East Lansing, those who do not wear the Maize and Blue are not welcome in Ann Arbor.

I love my friends dearly, and the area is nice, but it will take a lot for me to ever return to your city.

Chris Boyer

MSU Sophomore