Part school meets party politics\nThe age-old question: How do you get students to vote in local elections? The Republican Party thinks they have an answer. Pander to the party school types. Give'm what they want: parking facilities and kinder, gentler drinking police. Go to fraternities and sororities and collect signatures on pre-filled-out absentee ballots and mail them in. Make voting an easy, no--brainer experience.\nA little shady, but hey, it's working!\nHundreds of absentee ballots have arrived from "Greek" voters. And guess what? They all give the same reason for voting absentee: They all have a 12-hour workday Nov. 4th and can't get to the polls. Helping those students to lie on those forms may not be criminal, but it is dishonest. And it certainly must be more than a little demeaning to those fraternities and sororities who maintain political and ethnic diversity, good neighborhood relations and high standards for personal ethics. Many are known for their community service and are probably sick and tired of being the center of criticism for IU's party school image.\n"Party pandering" aside, the real issue should not be vote-getting tactics. The real issue is: How do you want to live? Do you want more parking and more cars, or do you want pedestrian and bike friendly downtown neighborhoods? Don't allow convenience vote mongers to insult your intelligence and decide for you. Wherever you go, you'll want a place to call "town." Why not start here and now. Make it happen. Vote. \nI hope you'll consider Steve Volan for district 6. He wants a downtown that's designed for people first and cars second. He runs a business there, a radio show there and as a founding board member of the Lotus World Music Festival, he works to make Bloomington extraordinary. His ancestors came here in order to leave political corruption behind in Greece, so he probably has ideas regarding the privilege of voting and what happens when only the privileged vote. \nMalcolm Dalglish\nBloomington resident
Shocked at fraud\nI've gotta tell ya, when I saw Colin Kearn's article "Republican's Defend Ballots," (IDS, 10-17) I was totally shocked. First, I was surprised that anyone could be so stupid that they would submit 216 fraudulent requests for absentee ballots and not expect to get caught; but more so was I shocked at Monroe County Republican Chairman Martin Stephens' absurd attack on City Clerk Regina Moore. Stephens claims that Moore and other county Democrats are trying to "intimidate and disenfranchise" student voters. Wake up, Stephens. Anyone with half a brain can see that the requests, coming from 5 greek houses and all claiming that the individuals have to work from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on election day, are clearly invalid and obviously lies. According to Stephens he is "deeply troubled by the organized, partisan attack on student voters that is being perpetrated by the Democratic Party." Stephens, you're right, you are deeply troubled and your attacks on Democrats are desperate and lame, nothing more!\nMoore is just trying to do her job and uphold our election laws. As for the students involved, I think it's probably a case of a few individuals thinking that they could get away with something paired by the incompetence and inexperience of the rest. \nSean Leffers\nSophomore
Revolutionize your thinking\nIn response to "Girls Gone Slutty"(Jack Silverstein, IDS, 10-17), I don't think it is an accident that this opinion piece was on the same page as another article entitled "They Had It Coming," because that is what Silverstein implies about girls who are "sluttily-dressed." Silverstein ponders about the causality of why girls might take off their shirts for "Girls Gone Wild" videos, yet his androcentric gaze clouds his musing. Perhaps these women are trying to attract heterosexual males by simulating homoerotic activity. False consciousness aside, perhaps these women are enjoying the freedom to take off their shirt if they feel like it, oh, but wait, they don't have the freedom to do this … if they do, the specter of more traditional days appears and alas, they are now SLUTS. What about the women's movement and the sexual revolution, you ask? Well as far as female's presentation of self and sexuality, we have not "come a long way, baby," as long as articles such as Silverstein's are blithely consumed, thus perpetuating the sexual double standard and even, I daresay, rape myths. \nWomen who "go crazy" and perhaps show their tits and (gasp) get drunk, are "just a slut," for Silverstein. And we all know that "hooking up with a slut is like masturbating with a person instead of your hand." Can we say Madonna/whore syndrome?\nOk, so what about all those girls who go out on weekends here "sluttily-dressed?" \nSilverstein is "baffled" why girls might get upset if they are "sluttily-dressed" and get unwanted advances. In fact, he makes an analogy to a mouse (Jerry) being in a cat's (Tom) sandwich. Of course the cat will "sharpen his knife and lick his lips." Thus, the analogy is clear: Women, BEWARE! Men are dangerous animals that if tempted are not going to "take pity," they will go in for the kill, so to speak. Can men possibly be held to lower standards than this? Not if we want to keep on blaming women for their oppression. But what do I know? I am probably just another slut who has shown her tits in a desperate attempt for men like Silverstein's respect. \nAlicia Suarez\nGraduate student
Make absentee open to all\nAn October 15 IDS article detailed efforts by the Monroe County Clerk's office to determine eligibility of 216 fraternity and sorority members who requested to mail in their votes. Typical absentee voters are disabled persons or the elderly who cannot make it to the polls, or persons acting as election officials working outside of their precincts. A person is also qualified to use this type of ballot if they will be working from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the day of the polls. Monroe County Democratic Chairman Dan Combs says his party intends to formally challenge these votes. This would necessitate that a three-member recount commission be assembled to lead an inquisition into which students had actually worked all day. These students may be charged with perjury if the commission determines that they did not. \nAbsentee ballots are an option that has made voting more attractive to many, particularly this historically apathetic 18-24 year old demographic. If the mail-in option means the difference between people playing a role in self-government and them remaining on the sidelines, absentee ballots should be open to everyone. Making voting accessible or even convenient involves increased costs. When free elections are being held directly following the overthrow of a dictatorship, extra security is sometimes required. Here, the additional costs to increase voter participation are the postage and materials needed to register 216 votes and minimal extra work by poll workers, who are paid a fixed amount regardless of hours worked. This is a small price to pay for increased voter turnout. Widespread voting is imperative to protect and expand the freedoms that Americans have fought to establish. \nThe purpose of our electoral system is to empower individuals to select representatives in government. The right to vote in the United States is vital to the continuation of democracy. By limiting individuals' ability to exercise this basic right by denying them options given to other groups, the law interferes with this purpose. In the interest of promoting basic freedoms, the law must be changed. \nDan Shockley\nSophomore
Loving Real\nI don't praise things enough, so I'm praising Bonnie Real. She's rhetorically savvy, astute in her observations about pop culture, and awfully, awfully funny. Her recent take on McDonald's ("Don't be McDiculous," IDS, Oct. 15) weirdly revamped self-image as defenders of the health industry is no exception. Real is a hoot, an intelligent hoot who tempers her ironic riffs on the silly with a discerning care for language. Give her the keys to the paper already!\nDavid J. Daniels\nAssociate Instructor, English Department
Rush-ing to defend\nI was utterly disappointed at the cartoon published on page 7 of the October 14 Issue of the IDS. The artist's attempt to equate Rush Limbaugh's criticism of Donovan McNabb to a Nazi's hatred for Jews, blacks and so forth is laughable and unoriginal. First of all, Jesse Owens won Olympic Gold Medals. Donovan McNabb has yet to win a Super Bowl or an NFC championship. He has been on a team that is largely recognized for its defense. McNabb's current QB rating is 54.2 which is terribly low and among the worst in the NFL amongst starting QB's. Your portraying of Limbaugh as a Nazi is not very compassionate nor is it even credible. You have the right to judge Rush Limbaugh just as he has a right to criticize Donovan McNabb and the media. I fail to see how portraying Mr. Limbaugh as a Nazi proves your point? It does not prove anything except the fact that liberals and liberal publications such as the IDS demonize conservatives. This cartoon is despicable and the editors should feel ashamed for letting something so blatantly outlandish appear on what I used to think was a credible and somewhat entertaining newspaper. \nNicholas Patrick McCormick\nSophomore
Sauers, you've done it again\nThank you, Elisha Sauers, for detailing so well the plight of millions victimized by both the Vatican and Dubya. I love especially your sentence: "These religious leaders probably intend to improve the welfare of HIV/AIDS-inflicted countries ... by promoting piety." This thought alone reveals the blindness of such attitudes.\nNaomi Ritter\nProf. Emerita of German Editor, Continuing Studies
Fitting just fine\nI found the article "When clothes launch an attack," Patrice Worthy, IDS, Oct. 10, not only contradictory but also insulting and unresearched. Speaking as a woman who is a size 10 and a 36D, I have three pairs of Express Jeans that fit my "feminine fat" butt just fine, and a plethora of Victoria's Secret Bras that not only fit, but that I would endorse to any woman with larger breasts who is looking for a supportive bra. As for you being a "fashion columnist" as well as a fashion design major, I highly doubt it is wise to instruct us curvy (or, according to statistics, average size) girls to "stay away from trends." If you want us to embrace our bodies and have higher self esteem as you say, let us follow whatever trends we want. And by the way, "crazy" Kimora Lee Simmons would be unimpressed. She has continually stressed, and it is evident anywhere the brand is sold, that Baby Phat runs up to a size 13, not a 6. \nGiliah Librach\nJunior
War on fatherhood\nRecently, an Indiana Court of Appeals panel decided that Indiana fathers need not have any say in the lives of their daughters. The father of the young woman in the article attempted to save the life of his daughter's 20-week old baby (To put this in perspective, MEDLINEplus, a service of the US National Library of Medicine, writes that the fetal heartbeat can be heard with a stethoscope at 20 weeks). In a disgusting perversion of justice, the appellate judges decided that the father's opinion did not matter, and the young woman was allowed to abort her child.\nHow is it just for one parent's decision about their child's abortion to supercede the other's? Why shouldn't the parent who is convinced that abortion is the murder of an innocent baby be granted the right to decide the matter?\nI already know that judges in this country have no concern for the little ones inside their mothers' tummies. I am now convinced that these judges have declared war on fatherhood itself, which can only hasten a society's descent into complete lawlessness and anarchy.\nLucas D. Weeks\nJunior\nPresident, IU Students for Life
\nA flashdance in the pan\nI am writing in response to Vincent Carr's article "No shirt, No shoes, No disco" (IDS Oct. 13, 2003). In his article, Mr. Carr expresses his sadness as to the decline in popularity of dance music. He uses an analogy that America's reaction to dance music is much the same as America's reaction to soccer. He states "We just don't really care, yet we don't know why we care." \nMr. Carr is not only wrong about his thinking, he is not even close. In America, there are groups of people who follow many different sports with regularity and extreme passion; even soccer. Major league soccer has yet to fold, thus meaning there are enough people interested in it to attend and pay for games and merchandise. Further, this would mean, using Mr. Carr's analogy, that since there in fact is a following of soccer, then there is a following for dance music. Mr. Carr needs to understand that people do not DISLIKE the music; they dislike the atmosphere it creates. Since the rise of hip-hop and R&B, people have enjoyed that atmosphere at parties and clubs more than that of dance. Although at one time, people enjoyed the atmosphere songs like "Mr. Vain," "Rhythm is a Dancer," "Be my Lover" and "Tonight is the Night," created, times have changed and so have the dance floor atmosphere. People would much rather throw their hands up and scream "to the windows to the walls!" and "Get Low;" not move around like a fish out of water waving florescent lights every which way. I, myself, take a certain liking to dance music but realize that the dance music atmosphere, at least in college towns like Bloomington, has taken a seat to the hip-hop nation. Don't get upset and assume people don't like dance music; rather, get off your butt and get on that dance floor and dance to whatever is playing.\nAaron Goldsmith\nJunior
Carr torn\nWhenever I read Vincent Carr's work, I am torn.\nDo I respond to the issues he attempts to address (public schools are horrendous and private schools are the only hope)? Or should I respond to the issues he unintentionally inserts, which in turn, corrupt his argument (affirmative action, one-sided research, and diversity as "sacrifice")?\nI choose to respond to his intended topic. \nClearly Mr. Carr ("Public vs. Private," IDS, Oct 6) presents the private versus public debate in a rather simplified way. Having been a teacher at both private and public schools in Indiana and New York, I have first-hand knowledge that private schools are as varied as public schools in their success rates, curricular approaches, resources, and support for families and children. \nIt is extremely important to remember that private schools are first and foremost a business and they must make certain choices to ensure that they will remain economically viable -- meaning profitable. Many times this means that private schools are unable or unwilling to provide appropriate services to special needs students without charging additional fees.\nMr. Carr's opinions about private and public schools reflect a lack of accurate information. Certainly, he should know that "social promotion" is not generally offered in the current "testing as reform" regime. \nSurely he is aware that public schools are unable to reform the home lives of students even when students are, as Mr. Carr states, "roaming the streets." Additionally, it is important to consider that vouchers are short-term solutions that seem to provide parents choices, but fail to address the underlying issues. They are, in effect, like placing a Band-Aid on a broken leg.\nMr. Carr was misguided in his thinking. It is simplistic to say that private schools are good and public schools are the problem. Poverty is a problem. Families in crisis are a problem. Lack of early literacy skills is a problem. Tax-based funding and districts drawn by socioeconomic lines are a problem. Inadequate staff development is a problem. And the list goes on. These problems need solutions and generally solutions require resources: time and money being the most precious.\n\nMary Pavesi-Roderique\nAlumna and Bloomington Resident
