Page 4-Tuesday, February 6, 1979-The Michigan Daily
The Allon controversy continues on
The Palestine Human YRights Com-
mittee article in the Daily What Hap-
pened and . Why," (Wednesday,
January 31, 1979) supposedly attempted
"to set the record straight" about the
demonstration against former Israeli
Foreign Minister Yigal Allon in
December, which was endorsed by
LSA-Student Government President
Bob Stechuk in the name of LSA-SG.
The PHRC article is filled with am-
biguities, distortions, half-truths and
lies which need to be corrected and
clarified.
I The article levels several accusations
that the University presents a one-sided
yiew of events in the Middle East and
promotes a pro-Zionist bias. The article
ites a few select examples of events
hat took place at the University and
ased upon them, draws the fallacious
ponclusion that these activities
somehow illustrate the University's
one-sidedness.
For example, the article addresses
Itself to the Camp David colloquium
held at the University last fall without
bainting an accurate picture of the con-
ference. This was a University-spon-
sored event which provided a balance
of views concerning the Camp David
'ACcords. Contrary to the assertions of
the PHRC article, two vocal PLO sym-
bathizers were invited to the
;olloquium and appeared as major
speakers: Malcolm Kerr and EKbal
Ahmad. in reference to Kerr in the ar-
hicle - who is never mentioned by
dame - he is labeled as an advisor to
the State Department, as if that's sup-
posed to imply he is some sort of
Zionist. Since when is the U.S. State
Department known for its pro-Israeli
views?
In the same paragraph providing
misinformation about the Camp David
colloquium, the article tried to make
some connection between the Univer-
sity and Hillel. The Hillel Foundation is
an independent organization serving as
a community center for Jewish studen-
ts on campus which functions entirely
independently of, the University. The
selection of speakers brought into Hillel
can in no way be considered to reflect,
or be even remotely related to the
selection of speakers brought in by the
University.
No one attempts to associate PHRC
activities with the University though it
often uses University facilities. To our
knowledge, no one has ever tried to
prevent PHRC speakers from
speaking, however controversial they
may have been.
The PHRC article tries to portray the
University faculty as being filled with
"vocal Zionists". No evidence, of cour-
se, is cited because there is none. The
only University course dealing directly
with the Arab-Israeli conflict is a cour-
se by the same name in the Political
Science Department. I'm sure that no
one would accuse the course's instruc-
tor of being pro-Israeli. And to claim
that those professors not taking the
Zionist.point of view have been subjec-
ted to pressures from the Zionist com-
Union of Students for Israel
munity is a mere lie. Such rhetoric ser-
ves only to continue the archaic myth of
some sort of Jewish or Zionist con-
spiracy which anti-Semites have -ex-
pounded for centures. Not only does the
PHRC article not substantiate its
claims of Zionist pressure, but lends
credence to this myth of which Jews for
so long have been victims.
As if these allegations about the
University were not enough, the article
also makes vicious and false ac-
cusations about Israel which can easily
be answered. For example, the article
singles out Israel as having oppressed
the Palestinians and denying their
rights. The historical facts, however,
prove otherwise..
Last year, Prime Minister
Menachem Begin revealed a plan for
Palestinian autonomy for the West
Bank and Gaza Strip. This plan had no
precedent; it was Israel which
suggested Palestinian self-rule for the
first time since the Arabs rejected the
United Nations Partition Plan in 1948.
The Camp David agreements of Sep-
tember 1978 followed through with the
basic- theme of the autonomy plan.
Camp David set up a framework in
which Palestinian Arabs of the West
Bank and Gaza Strip will participate in
determining their own future through
self-government. Thus, the accusations
that Israels denies Palestinian rights
does not stand ground. The Palestinian
issue has been seized upon in. recent
years as a political tool by those
elements who seek to destroy Israel.
Zuheir Muhsin, head of the PLO
Military Operations Department, ad-
mitted to this just a few years ago:.
"The existence of a separate
Palestinian identity serves only tactical
purposes. The founding of a Palestinian
state is a new tool in the continuing bat-
tle against Israel."
The PHRC article's allegations about
Israel's supposed violations of human
rights also do not hold water. The
Report of the National Lawyers Guild
referred to in the article was not a
credible or objective documentation.
The Guild's delegation was organized
by Abdeen Jabara, a PLO supporter
and editor of the publication Free
Palestine. A member of the delegation
reported that interviews were done ex-
clusively with PLO-approved
Palestinians and Israeli anti-Zionists.
No mention was made in the Guild's
Report of PLO terrorism. Alan Der-
showitz, Professor at Harvard, refutes
the National Lawyer Guild's Report in
the magazine, American Lawyer
(8/11/78).
The PHRC article also totally distorts
the controversy over LSA-SG President
Bob Stechuk's endorsement of the
demonstration against Yigal Allon. No
one ever tried to force
rescind his endorsement a;
states. The group of Zionist
article speaks of recog
Stechuk and LSA-SG's rig
own political views and th
express them. The article
states that LSA-SG support
action. This is totally incorr
confirmed by a resolution
LSA-SG Executive Council
17,1979, which states: "Th
Council did not approve th
dorsement."
The' PHRC article also
inaccurate picture of the of
called by Stechuk. No o
meeting claimed that the
demonstration was, in and
denial of free speech. Inde
to protest was reaffir
resolution a group of usX
Stechuk at this meeting wh
PHRC members.
We objected to the dis
violent nature of the pro
Allon and in having our Stu
nment's name attached
protest. It is true that we a
to the actual LSA-SG e
because it was made irresi
out of ignorance. For, not
vote by the LSA-SG Execu
ever taken, but Stechuk r
tempt to discover the othe
issue at hand.
The PHRC article also
belittle the violence and
which greeted Allon at th
campus
Stechuk to Amphitheater. The violence was not
s the article restricted to one incident, as the article
ts which the claims. In fact, the U-M Security
nized both Report clearly shows that more than a
ght to their mere fist fight took place. This report
ieir right to speaks of intimidation and unruly
also falsely demonstration within the Amphitheater
ed Stechuk's and violence ontside. A person taking
ect and was photographs, as well as his father, a
passed by University professor, were both bodily
on January attacked by hostile demonstrators out-
e Executive , side after the lecture.
e PHRC en- Stechuk and the LSA-SG have taken
corrective action to dissociate them'
paints an selves from the violent and disruptive
pen meeting protest. If it is true that the PHRC did
ne at that not intend to prevent Allon from
call for a speaking, as the article states, why has
I of itself, a the PHRC not dissociated themselves?
ed, the right Instead, the article attempts. to play
rmed in a down the incident and labels Allon as a
presented to criminal, which seems to be some sort
ich included of justification for the violence and
disruption.
ruptive and If the purpose of the PHRC article
test against xas merely propaganda, then perhaps
adent Gover- it was successful; if it was thought that
to such. a the article would go unanswered, the
lso objected PHRC was wrong.
ndorsement
ponsibly and
only was no
tive Council
made no at-
r side of the
attempts to
disruption
e Rackham
This space is reserved every
Tuesday and Saturday for
responsible spokespeople to
air the views of coanmuniy
organizations. If you or your
group is interested in having
your views printed, stop by the
Daily or call 764-0552.
Sie Adp gan 0a t
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Eighty-Nine Years of Editorial Freedom
Vol. LXXXIX, No. 106 News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Pot holes in city politics:
The making of an issue,.
Let the students evaluate
NO ORGANIZATION can improve
without welcoming constructive
comment and criticism, and the
University is no exception. Since,
student evaluation of teachers and
courses are the best way for students
to comment. on the quality of their
education, we feel that all professors
should be required to hand out such
evaluations in their classes, and that
all results should be released to
students for perusal.
But the effectiveness of these
evaluations has been seriotsly ham-
pered here due to the attitudes of many
faculty members and department
chairmen. Some instructors currently
refuse to hand out evaluations in their
classes, claiming that students - who
are paying large amounts of money to
fund faculty salaries - are incapable
of accurately analyzing an instructor's
performance.'
Who should then be responsible for
filling out evaluations? Certainly not
other professors. They are not atten-
ding classes and taking exams. Cer-
tainly not administrators. Their only
contact with professors comes at a
personal level. Only students who at-
tend the same class day after day for
an entire term can responsibly
evaluate an instructor's teaching
abilities.
It is true that many departments
require the dissemination of student
evaluations, and most professors,
willingly submit to this systematic
critique from students. However,
unless all professors agree to these
evaluations the effectiveness of such a
program is severely crippled. If a
professor is allowed to decide whether
he or she shall give out evaluations to
students, it is likely that only those
teachers confident of receiving
positive responses will comply.
Allowing students to see the results
of such evaluations is an issue which
has been debated at the University for
several years. The Student Counseling
Office (SCO), which has available a
partial file of course evaluation
results, has complained that because
many departments refuse to release
results of their evaluations, students
are therefore denied the opportunity to
see what other students thought about
many courses.
Some department chairmen say
releasing results to students may
jeopardize the cooperative atmosphere
of its faculty members. Yet, the
Political Science department has
willingly released results of its,
evaluations to its undergraduate
association for years, and the program
has been extremely successful.
Certainly some changes should be
made in the ;evaluations themselves
in order to make them more useful for
both students and teachers. Whether a
professor received a '4' or a '5' on an
"Instructor's Preparation" question
indicates very little about that
teacher's performance.
More open-ended responses as well
as information about the student who
filled out the evaluation is needed. A
student's class year or reasons for
taking the course can explain why the
student responded in the way he or she
did.
I had occasion to listen in on the
conversation of two motorists
driving through Washington this
summer. The driver had just
struck a rather imposing pothole
in the road when he remarked, "I
wonder if potholes will become a
campaign issue here." His
passenger responded "Are you
kidding? Nobody cares about
street repair!"
"Don't underestimate people,"
the astute driver replied.
"Potholes once swung an election
in a very intelligent community."
The "intelligent community"
the driver was referring to was
Ann Arbor, and the election that
was "swung" Was the last year's
mayor's race, when Republican
Mayor Lou Belcher edged out in-
cumbent Al Wheeler in a 179-vote
victory that in this city could well
be considered a landslide.
Potholes may again surface
this election year as one of the
major issues in the mayoral
campaign, as city democrats are
hoping quietly that the city's
newly-patched streets will start
to fall apart by April.
The battle over the .city's
blighted streets became the
classic Democratic-Republican
philosophical debate of the spring
of 1978. The Democrats accused
the Republicans of ignoring the
needs of the city poor by diver-
ting social service funds for road
repair work. The Republicans,
behind mayoral candidate
Belcher, called potholes "the
number'one priority. It's incon-
ceivable to me that what was
supposedly the Athens of the west
and the symbol of everything
great in the midwest couldn't
even fix it's potholes," Belcher
said during the campaign.
Both sides took their case to the
partisan-deadlocked city council
in the February 23 meeting.
Belcher introduced a resolution
directing the cityadministrator
to scan the budget and come up
with $1.5tmillion to fix the streets.
The resolution suggested he look
first in the city's coffer of Com-
munity Development Bloc Grant
Funds, the Democrat's favorite
kitty for social service programs.
Calling Belcher's proposal
"fiscally irresponsible" Wheeler
introduced a pothole proposal of
his own, telling the administrator
to search the budget and find out
how much money was available
for street repair. Belcher, in his
most famous campaign commen-
tary, called that idea "purely p-
olitical folderal cannon fodder."
Needless to say, Belcher's plan
passed.
complete reconstruction of most
of the city's blighted streets -
which would have required
tearing up the old street,
spreading crushed stone beneath
the base, providing for curved
sides to drain off water, and
pouring over a base covering.
One estimate then was that so
major an undertaking would
have cost anywhere between $40
million and $76 million.
Indicative of how major an
ciLyo
[imls'lt
h M %
major repair job.
Some streets, like State, were
actually, resurfaced, but unless
repaired from the base - and
unless water drainage curves are
provided - will last no longer
than two years. Other streets got
an even more instant quick-fix
treatment with a cold patch
solution. Some engineers say the
cold patch may hold for all of six
cars.
The problems with filling in the
potholes instead of repairing the
streets is that water can still get
in the eracks, and when the water
starts to freeze - like in the sub-
zerotemperatures, - it starts to
expand. That makes a bigger
hole, the hole fills with water, the
process starts anew, and, presto
- where once was a pothole, we
now have a pothole.
The streets haven't started
falling apart just yet, but there
are sever'al city democrats who
are hopeful- no, praying - that
a few potholes will start to show
their familiar faces on Ann Arbor
streets sometime before tjie April
election.
Democratic mayoral contender
Jamie Kenworthy is already
launching his campaign against
Belcher's "do-it-today, quick fix
approach to problem-solving."
And Kenworthy's railing against
Republican's promises will have
a lot more credibility if some
potholes pop up by election day.
After the Republican landslide,
former Councilman Ron
Trowbridge said "We're in power
now. We can't possible break a~
many promises as Jimmy Carte'
did and expect to stay in power.
There's still two months until
election day, but if the Mayor's
quick-fix road repair doesn't hold
up through spring thaw, the
mayor - like Jimmy Carter=-
may fall victim to a candidate
who offers lowered expectations.
Keith Richburg is City
Editor of the Daily. Beginning
today, this column will appear
every other Tuesday.
Kke* h
richburl
But the battle over potholes -
or how to fix them - was deeper
than the ideological partisan
schisms that deadlocked city
council in those days. The real
dichotomy was whether the city
would opt for quick cosmetic
solutions to problems, or long-,
range plans that take both more
time and money.
As one Democrat said during
the last campaign, "the streets
didn't get that way overnight,
and there's no way you can repair
them overnight." To really fix
potholes would have required a
operation road repair really is,
the reconstruction of the small
stretch of Church street between
S. University and Hill cost
$120,000. But in that street repair
job, the city *and the University
split the cost.
But thesnewly-elected mayor
had'promised a quick fix solution
to the pothole problem. Instead of
repairing the streets, Belcher's
city council allocated $450,000 to
fill in the potholes. Moreover,
that money was to be spread bet-
ween six streets, meaning that
neither street was getting a
Letters
To the Daily: .
I would like to point out that in
the article "3 locals dine with
Chinese leader Teng" I was men-
tioned as a Taiwanese graduate
student. Actually, I introduced
myself as a student from Taiwan.
But this discrepancy is not the
real reason why I wrote this let-
ter: I am writing this letter to
bring to the attention of Daily
readers several recent develop-
ments in Taiwan.
Since President. Carter an-
nounced the decision to establish
diplomatic relations with the
People's Republic of China on
December 15 last year, Chiang's
regime on Taiwan has
m nnanvPerOd and utilized this
1) On December 16 -last year,
the KMT has outlawed all further
election activities and in-
definitely postponed the
scheduled December 23 election.
The opposition force, consisting
of non-KMT political candidates
and supporters, was expecting a
substantial gain.
2) On January 21 this year, the
77-year old Yu Teng-fa and his
son were arrested under the
framed up charge of sedition.
Reliable sources disclosed that 43
others were also arrested. The
real reason for KMT's action is to
nip in the bud the rising tide of
opposition's democratic
movement. Mr. Tu Teng-fa is one
January 23. China Tide was one
of the very few magazines in
Taiwan today that would voice
the dissensions of the masses of
people of the lower and middle
social strata and expose the
corruption rampaged KMT
regime. This magazine's influen-
ce was growing rapidly.
I believe that more and heavier
suppressive measures will be
taken by the KMT and it is very
important to let people be aware
of this situation.
-Lee Shiuh Wuu
a student from Taiwan
To the Daily: Prop. D
After reviewing the article
concerning the effect of
ts and resident staff.n
In our opinion this is an inac
curate representation of the
situation in this dorm. Mr.
Williams was not made aware of-
a new situation by the Daily.
At the "emergency" meeting
no new regulations were made,
on the contrary the original,
agreed upon staff policy was'
maintained. The Daily's use of
one quote from the meeting does
not seem to be sufficient for cap
turing, the flavor of a two hour
meeting. It should be made clean
as well that the "Mary Markley
kegger" referred to in the article
was a private party which went'
on behind closed doors without
the resident staff's knowledge. "
The students-at Markley for the
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