Letters to the Editor

BAMN leaders divide students in support of affirmative action

To the Daily:

On Martin Luther King Day, the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action By Any Means Necessary held a rally in attempt to gain support for affirmative action. At the rally, the Black Student Union, with support from other groups, marched in chanting, "Our issue, our voice, our struggle," and they were later given a chance to speak at the rally. They urged that students see that the issue is important and that support for affirmative action exists beyond BAMN's militant and often ignorant views.

BAMN has monopolized the issue for too long. Their militancy and immature behavior discredits the affirmative action constituency. Furthermore, the idea of "our issue, our struggle" is valid when BAMN is represented by Luke Massie, who is not, in any way, a part of the University community.

The issue of affirmative action affects all of us. "It is not simply a black and white issue," Diego Bernal, a graduate student and Michigan Student Assembly representative, explained on behalf of the BSU. This is an issue that deserves to be voiced by more than just a group of militants led by someone who has nothing to do with our community.

BAMN's behavior, their refusal to hear other views and their sketchy affiliation with groups like the Revolutionary Workers League is counter-productive and insulting to the entire University community, especially to those who care about affirmative action. The BSU sends an important message about out this issue has been exploited so that an outside group can stand on a soapbox proclaiming that anything that stands in BAMN's way is a part of some racist conspiracy. This is a message that people are going to remember far past MLK Day and the trial. It is a message that BAMN is not going to be able to ignore, and it will be hard for them to use the hackneyed excuse of "because you're a racist" against the BSU.

Ari Paul

RC first-year student

Business School did not respect King's legacy during event

To the Daily:

Our country was blessed to have such a thoughtful and eloquent spokesman for freedom and equality in the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Our country also chose to recognize its appreciation for its good fortune by dedicating a day to remember the contribution King made to our society and the University took part in this by sponsoring various speakers, performances and other events. Two such events stand out as polar opposites of the potential for such a day to enrich the student body and faculty.

Michael Eric Dyson, a poignant speaker brought to the University by the Rackham Graduate School, highlighted in electrifying and spirited fashion some of the ways King attempted to question, to enlighten, to inspire and to lead by example. He did so while also elucidating the circumstances and social limitations in which King lived and worked, thereby allowing the audience to more deeply understand and appreciate King, as well as allowing us to contemplate the relevance of King's message to problems our society still faces.

The University's Business and Finance Convocation in recognition of King, however, presented a bland and insipid performance, which bordered on insulting in its shallowness. After opening with a jazz ensemble, the show went on to present the "Business and Finance Diversity Choir" singing songs about love and justice that would have been simplistic for a grammar school assembly, let alone a performance sponsored by an esteemed university.

King is not remarkable for being a supporter values such as love and justice. The fact that they are "universal" by definition states that a supporter of such values is not, by virtue of that belief alone, remarkable.

King is remarkable because he worked his whole life to identify those in society who were disadvantaged and mistreated despite such universal values and to work with them and for them in helping to correct society's failure to implement its values. As Dyson said in his remarkable speech, King challenged America's sense of complacency with how it was living up to its professed morals. The only thing in the Business and Finance Convocation that could have possibly been inspiring and relevant to the true activist spirit of King was the performance of a gospel ensemble.

Unfortunately, this was relegated to the foyer after the real performance to serve as background music for those enjoying the buffet.

If the Business school is serious about honoring the memory of King, it must go beyond sponsoring performances which endorse such cutting edge concepts as "freedom is a good thing" and present those which truly challenge or provoke in the audience a sense of desire to follow King's path towards social equity. Otherwise, it should stick just to providing the buffet for events that do - at least this is something it is good at.

David Katz

SNRE graduate student

Affirmative action corrects secondary education inequality

To the Daily:

In the wake of the celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I believe that the stalemated and often heated debate on the topic of affirmative action in Higher Education, needs resolution.

However such a solution is not easy to come by. In order to appease opponents on both sides of the issue, a comprehensive solution (i.e. not just siding with one group or the other) needs to be promoted. It is my opinion that, though I believe the use of race in admissions is unfair to all those who apply to an institution (I, on my own application, chose "Other" and wrote "human"), it is necessary until pro-active changes are made to pre-university education.

There are many studies that show that secondary schools in lower-income areas, which, happen to often encompass a greater number of non-white members, are doing a less than esteemable job of preparing their students to have a respectable chance at getting admitted to an institution of higher education. By the time a student is applying to college, it is too late for him or her to make up the effects of a less than stellar secondary education. A call for widespread change in high school and elementary education is in order. Herein, the playing field is leveled before the student reaches post-secondary education and then higher education institutions are free to look at a student's merits free of any sort of bias, effectively making the collegiate admissions process equitable for all who choose to apply.

In short, the use of race in admissions, though ultimately biased, is wholly necessary until we can be assured that students who apply to this university are all given a fair start to begin with. Once the aforementioned happens, such policies will not be needed.

Jeremy Peters

LSA junior

Woomer attacked capitalism, America

To the Daily:

The column by Nick Woomer, "Don't cut taxes, give everyone an unconditional income," (1/16/01) is by far the most farcical piece of idealism I have ever encountered in the Daily or anywhere else for that matter. How can the Daily print such a clearly sardonic attack on capitalism and America itself? The proposal of an unconditional income for all is worse than socialism in that socialists at least expect their citizens to work.

Consider this: In the history of the world there has only been one country that is both truly a republic and capitalist. That country is America and in our short history we have become the only remaining superpower. I borrowed this idea from "The Virtue of Selfishness" by Ayn Rand. If you need more convincing then I would highly recommend this book as a starting place.

Ryan Wendlandt

Alumnus