Page 4-Thursday, October 18, 1979-The Michigan Daily
Ninety Years of Editorial Freedom
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Vol LXXXX, No. 37
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Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
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Faculty salaries disclosure
ends cloud of secrecy
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T HAS TAKEN a decade of debate
, and a bill from the state capital to
pry out of the University ad-
ministration that which common sense
says belongs in the realm of public in-
formation-the disclosure of faculty
',alaries. Once Senate bill 504 is signed
by the governor, the Univeristy's
shroud of secrecy over professors'
paychecks can finally be lifted, paving
the way for a close public scrutiny that
can hopefully end both the blatant
inequities among departments and the
atmosphere of mistrust that the
University, by its intansigence, helped
foster.
The University administration and
faculty that battled against faculty
salary disclosure cited, of all things,
'the right to privacy. But those public
servants who chose to evoke privacy
frights in the face of the public demands
for acountability chose to forget the
simple fact that, as public employees,
their salaries are paid out of every
citizens' taxes. Fortunately, the state
iegislators acted appropriately to jar
their memories.
It. is not, as University Interim
President Allan Smith suggested, that
F
public employees are second-class
citizens. It 'is a fact, however, that
those who voluntarily choose to enter
the public sector sacrifice certain
liberties of private citizens in the name
of public service. Just as public em-
ployees wave most of their rights to
protection against libel, so are many
rights of privacy made secondary in
the overriding interest of the right of
public knowledge.
It is not that public employees are
second class citizens, but they are
more deserving of close public
scrutiny than private citizens,. since
the very salaries they sought to cover-
up and conceal are salaries paid by the
public. And what's more, the suspicion
of inequality -among departments and
within departments is right now high,
and only full disclosure of all salaries
can help clear the air. Imbalances are
sure to exist, and public disclosure of
salaries surely will not correct
inequalities or even end the debate.
But a debate carried on in the public
forum is healthier and more helpful
than a debate based on guess,
estimate, averages, and figures known
only to an elite few.
I
C
i
Dissension in gay ranks
threatehs battle with Straights'
Perhaps I should find some
solace in being included within
the ranks of a minority, a status
that has become somewhat
fashionable. Solace might come
easier if my thinority status were
of an ethnic, political, racial, or
religious nature. I am linked to a
group of people for no reason
other than a shared sexual orien-
tation.
Some people might be sur-
prised to learn that there are
homosexuals who do not wish to
be identified with the gay com-
munity as a whole. We are not
trying to portray ourselves as
hetersexual or even as more ac-
ceptable to heterosexuals, but we
do not share the values and tastes
that typify the gaylifestyle.
HAVING ACKNOWLEDGED
my own sexual orientation at the
age of fourteen, I have had twen-
ty-one years to acquaint myself
with the world of gays from the
inside. I have learned that social
success in the gay world required
unchallenged conformity. From
the trendy vernacular to dress
codes, to sexual behavior, con-
formity is the name of the
game.
The fact that I am sexually
fulfilled by one person seems
totally alien to most of my gay
fiends. Because I am not "ready
and willing" to participate in the
gay parade of changing sex par-
tners,' I confess to be the gay bar
scene, the' baths, "Cruising" the
streets in tight jeans. I am not a
prude. I just happened to have
grown up. Some years back I
became sadly aware of a large
number of unhappy, middle-aged
homosexuals who shared their
By Jack Pearson
lonely lives with only a handful of
gay acquaintances. Their earlier
years had been spent pursuing
sex and superficiality. Substance
had escaped them and they had
turned into despondent older men
for whom "gay" would be the
classical misnomer.
While still a teenager,rI learned
the ins and outs of the relentless
pursuit of gay sex. The pressing
of young gay flesh is quite
popular sport, as I learned in
numerous places, private and
public, from choir loft to the back
row of the local movie theater.
Sexual exploits of an "at ran-
dom" nature are not only expec-
ted in the gay lifestyle, but are of-
ten used as criteria for
measuring social success. Com-
parable behavior among
straights would hardly be con-
sidered the basis of a solid
reputation. A surprisingly small
portion of the urban gay com-
munity strives for the kind of
fidelity that even gays expect of
heterosexual relationships.
THE ANITA Bryants, though
abhorrent to those opposed to in-
tolerance. and prejudice, have
touched on some uncomfortable
truths. The most obvious to
straights and most
unacknowledged by gay people is
that we generally expect and
require a different moral code for
our hetersexual counterparts.
Countless times in my youth I
was invited to enter into a
"lover" relationship, sometimes
by those who had known me for a
matter of days, and at. other
times by someone who already
had a lover at hone. The
swinging singles and mate-
swapping of today's straight
society account for but .a small
percentage of the populace. Yet,
in the gay subculture a com-
parably relaxed moral code is
definitely the rule rather than the
exception.
Until gays require adherence to
the same moral code for them-
selves as for non- gays, people
such as Anita Bryant will wield
at least one sickle of truth, and
will use it with a zeal that 'will
never permit total recognition
and acceptance by society. We
gays expect straight society to
exercise some control over its
sexual appetite while we permit
our own sexual desires to deter-
mine the type of lifestyle we lead,
usually one that is promiscuous
and self-serving. This is one
homosexual's admission that
double standards born in the gay
lifestyle are a more serious ob-
stacle than any oppression or in-
tolerance from without.
I AM ALSO a homosexual who
says that it is a classical cop out
for homosexuals to portray
themselves as an oppressed
minority. Gays have, in fact,
played a far greater role in
separating ourselves from the
remainder of society than the
would-be oppressors. Living in a
state of "gayness" is as
preposterous as it would be for
heterosexuals to live for the sake
of being "straight". The basis for
the minority status of gays is best
The idea that homosexuals are.
greatly confined and limited by
the rest of society is often the,
result of separatist gay attitudes.'
I know many gay men and,
women who go far overboardip
their support of strictly gay.
businesses and organizations..
Some will patronize a restaurant
because it is a "gay" restaurant
despite the inferiority of its food
and servicedfor entertainment,
should be determined by his.
sexuality is ludicrous.
Many gays are certain that the
answer to our social ills lies in
educating the public. Gay rights
leaders should question them,
selves as to how well educated
they wish the straight public to,
be. Should we tell them of the un-
paralled incidence of social
diseases among gays? Should we
tell them of a casual acceptance
of promiscuity by gays that
would leave many "liberated"
straights breathless? Such a for-
thright presentation may well
alienate many straights in the
camp of neutrality.
Until the scope of gay lifestyles
broaders and gay vision clears, I
cannot be very excited about all
the work being done to achieve
social acceptance of gays. I can
only wish to be counted out of it.
Jack Pearson, a freelanc
writer from Chicago, wasane
gay who chose not to associate
himself with the mainstream'
gay movement, which, he
asserts, is threatened by' op
pression from within its own
ranks more than from any for-
m i th f tr) iaht" ulVIl.
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Russian-Chnese detente?
UST A FEW years ago, the pro- ponent. Eventually, there was no room
)sition seemed as likely as Yassir for a solution.
t meeting with Menachem Begin. Once any close contact between the
oviet Union and China were pic- two countries was ended, a new game
so far apart that, their bitter began. It became a game for world in-,
y. and propagan geemed fluence, in which both sides collected
ble of lasting forever.,-They even allies like points in a bridge game. The
ed to sit down a, try to resolve game was played in Southeast Asia,
differences. Africa, and in Western Europe.
yesterday in a second floor room But the most dangerous playing field
central Moscow guest house, low- was the United States. Both sides used
representatives of the Soviet the United States as their chief target
a and Chin- began their quest for for victory. When President Nixon
e. And though the negotiators made his famous trip to Peking in 1972,
failed to agree on an agenda for . the Chinese were elated because they
alks, the mere fact that they are were now recognized as an important
g in the same room represents a power in the world. That impression
antial improvement from the was further reinforced when President
animosity between the two sides. Carter recognized China at the begin-
e is a chance for "co-existence" ning of this year.
een the two superpowers-a term The Russians have had their vic-
widely by the late Soviet tories too. The first strategic arms
ier Nikita Khruschev to describe limitation treaty in 1972, and sub-
remlin's relations with the White sequent technological and trade
e. agreements between the two sides
have increased the chances of world
t before the new "detente" can peace as well as convincing the
become a reality, both sides must Kremlin of its military parity with the
throwing political darts at each United States. If the Senate ratifies
, and their respective allies. They SALT II, it will be viewed as another
search for solutions to their own win for the Kremlin.
ogical squabble, and for answers Yet, during each interchange bet-
e conflicts in Cambodia and Viet- ween one of the powers and the United
States, the remaining member of the
close allies in the 1950s, both Big Three quickly unleashes the
tries pursued the goals of cdm- propaganda weaponry-whether it be
ism, deliberating often to iron out posters in Peking or news dispatches in
ogical and political policies. The Tass.
ogical disputes loomed so large in If the two sides are ever going to
ate 1950s that relations began to resolve their differences,
ly deteriorate, until ties were the propaganda warfare must end. In
en in the early 1960s. Both nations addition, both sides must keep their
lead by stubborn and deep ideological disputes separate and
cal thinkers who viewed com- combine efforts to search for world
ise as surrendering to the op- peace.
described as counterteit.
s
The long cherished goal of meeting Midwest
oil shortages with domestic crude from
Alaska-a key part of Project Independen-
ce-is growing less attainable even as its
staunchest supporters become more adamant
in its behalf.
Today, due to a series of unforseen
developments, less and less of Alaska's
booming output of oil is'going to the Midwest,
where it was originally intended to do, and
more and more is going to the West Coast,
where there is already an abundance of
domestic and Indonesian crude.
THE PROSPECTS FOR any change in this
pattern depend on a long series of "ifs" and
"maybes" regarding Alaska's future output,
the Midwest's future demand, and the
economicviability of transporting the oil.
Production of crude oil at the huge Alaskan
Prudhoe Bay field, the largest in the U.S., is
at an all-time high today. Yet during the first
half of the year, deliveries of Alaskan oil to
the Midwest declined by 50 per cent.
The distribution began two years ago when
oil first started to flow through the Trans-
Alaskan pipeline, stretching 800 miles from
Prudhoe Bay to the port city of Valdez in the
southern part of the state. Most of this crude
is tankered down to refineries on the West
Coast, while a fraction of it makes the long
and costly voyage through the Panama
Canal to the Gulf Coast, and from there to the
Midwest and East Coast.
WHEN TIlE Trans-Alaskan pipeline
project was debated by Congress in the early
70s, critics foresaw that the route contained
no provisions for efficiently distributing the
oil east of the Sierras. Proposals were made
to build a pipeline through Canada into the
American Midwest.
But the oil companies developing the
Prudhoe Bay field-principally Exxon and
Atlantic Richfield-found it would be cheaper
to tanker and unload the oil at their own West
Coast refineries than to. build a pipeline
through Canada.
The lone exception was Sohio, owner of over
40 per cent of the north Alaskan field. With no
refineries of its own on the West Coast, Sohio
announced plans to build a tanker terminal at
Long Beach, .and to pipe most of its
oil--500,000 barrels a day-through a conver-
Midwest needs
Alaska's 0oil
By Herb Fox
barrels, partly because of the unexpectedly 1
high rise in the cost of foreign oil. They also
claimed they now had a better understanding '
of the refining characteristics of the heavy
and sulphurous Alaskan crude, and so could
increase their refining capacity.
. For Sohio, the willingness of West Coast
refiners to buy more of its Alaskan oil meant
a reduction in the surplus that had to be ship-
ped through the Panama Canal. The company
reduced its Panama run-and therefore, the
amount of alaskan oil to reach the Mid-
west-from 400,000 barrels a day to 200,000
barrels. Sohib now predicts that the surplus '
will drop to zero once North Slope production I
begins to dwindle in 1990.1
AS THIS WAS happening on the West Coast, 1
Sohio received news from El Paso Natural
Gas Company that the pipeline that it had
planned to convert to carry oil East might not
be available. Because of the reduction in its
oil surplus, and the possibility of having to
bear the cost of constructing a new pipeline,
Sohio decided that the pipeline project was no
longer profitable. In March, the oil firm
dramatically announced its decision to drop
the project.
The timing of the Sohio announcement led
critics to suspect that the giant British owned
oil firm was really trying to pressure the
federal government into approving a dif-
ferent and more convenient scheme to supple
oil to the cold regions of the country-the oil
swap scheme with Japan and Mexico.
This proposal involved exporting oil from
Alaska to Japan, while Mexican oil ear-
marked for Japan would simply be piped to
the U.S. The swap would end the need for a
costly transportation scheme for the Alaskan
oil to the cold regions of the U.S. d
THE OIL COMPANIES staked out at
Prudhoe Bay would also benefit, of course,
from a new, high revenue-earning export
business.
Ci n l rcanhrc.hvs n en Inan n.-cn~aA lO
ces rn ie scracgn woria.
the ban on oil exports would only be lifted
"over my dead body."
EXCEPT FOR DOME on-going prodding
by Alaskan state officials, the three-way swap
plan died at that meeting.
Among the reasons for Congressional op-
position to the oil swap is the fact that
Mexican crude is more expensive than
Alaskan, and a fear that Mexico's production
output is unreliable. Congress is also aware of
the public opposition that might arise were-it
to approve the export of U.S. oil during an
energy crisis.
The only remaining prospect of delivering
Alaskan crude to the Midwest involves con-
structing a 1500 mile-pipeline from Port
Angeles, in Washington state, to the Midwest.
This is the only pipeline proposal likely to
receive federal approval.
This pipeline, dubbed the Northern Tier, is
favored by the Department of Energy
because it is the only proposed project to stay
within the borders of the U.S. In mid-August,
outgoing Energy Secretary} Schlesinger
recommended that the Northern Tier pipeline
proposal be granted an expedited review
process by federal agencies.
AND IT IS HERE that the "Catch 22"'-of
long term oil forecasting comes in. Federal
energy officialsbare now no longer confident
that there will be enough oil available from
Alaska-or enough demand from the Mid-
west-to fill the huge projected pipeline
capacity of over 900,000 barrels a day.
In September an Energy Department
report predicted that the "transportation
deficit" that the pipeline would have to frill
between 1.985 and 2000 would be "only" 130,000
barrels a day, partly due to supply to the
Midwest from other areas.
In addition; the Energy Department leas
also forecast that the rate of return for in-
vestors in the Northern Tier pipeline would-be
extremely low. The backers of the pipeline
proposal, led by U.S. Steel, thus might never
get adequate financing for the one billion
dollar project.
Still, die-hard backers of using Alaskan oil
in the Midwest are not about to give up even if
the Northern Tier project falls thorugh.
Michigan's Rep. Dingell is so convinced the
idea will work that he has asked the Interstate
a'ftI Foreign Commerce Committee to draw
up legislation providing for a federally funded
Lnna Beh .Ca -tn-Texas nineine nrniect
EDITORIAL STAFF
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rt t1 r
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