~iw £ fr4igprn Di1
Eighty-Seven Years of Editorial Freedom
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Friday, February 11, 1977
News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Thaw in the Caribbeanl
E OPPORTUNITY now presents
itself for the United States to
end 17 years of hatred and bad feel-
ings and open the way for complete
relaxation of tension with Cuba. Fi-
del Castro indicated in an interview
a few days ago that he would be
open to meeting with President Car-
ier,
But the Cuban leader did not end
there. He also pointed to the mutual
economic and cultural benefits both
countries would receive. Cuba, only
90 miles from the U.S., would be a
good source of sugar and nickle, two
products we use ,in large quantities.
This warm statement comes from
Cuba at a time when relations with
our sland neighbor have been cool-
ing, after a short thaw, and with a
change in leadership in Washington.
Castro's remarks could also be a sign
that Cuba is tired of being almost
completely dependent on the Soviet
Union for foreign trade.
The time is now right for Carter
to take the next step and return Cas-
tro's offer to confer. Not only does
Cuba offer the United States many
economic benefits, but the opening
of full relations with Cuba could
eventually lead to a new ally in the
Caribbean.
Besides, as Castro himself put it,
"I personally would like to see our
Cuba baseball team play your New
York Yankees."
In defen
By DAVE BURGETT
IN HIS COLUMN of February 8, Chuck Anesi states
that specious arguments can be made against capital
punishment; the rest of his article provides overwhelm-
ing proof that the arguments in its favor can be equally
atrocious. It is difficult to know where to begin in re-
sponding to this remarkable document, since nearly
every line contains a factual misrepresentation, absurd
reasoning, a contempt for democratic values, or some
combination of the three. The writer's first target is
the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is
alleged to be devoted to "minority rule and miscreant
rights."
The ACLU's long record of defense of democratic
institutions and principles shows the first part of the
allegation to be ridiculous. The second is absolutely
correct. Although totalitarians would deny the principle,
democrats recognize that liberty requires that mis-
creants, along with everyone else, do have rights, and
that it is the duty of the state to protect thoserights.
Although I am tempted to defend my fellow "effete
snobs" of the ACLU, this is unnecessary, since the rec-
ord of the ACLU speaks for itself. What is more serious
is the assault on the rule of law mounted in the name
of defending capital punishment.
ANESI STATES that the fact that the ACLU presents
legal arguments before the federal courts "shows that
their case is so pitifully weak that it cannot possibly
impress the people." This assertion shows a profound
and frightening misunderstanding of the nature and role
of the rule of law in a democracy. When a case is pre-
sented before a court the purpose is not to establish
what the law ought to be in that case, but what it is.
The -immediate question is legal, not normative. If
public opinion decides that a law is bad, it can act to
change it through the legislature, but what the public
thinks at a given moment has no bearing on what the
law actually is; that is for the courts to decide.
It is doubtful whether the public is as well informed
on the subject of the effects of the death penalty as
Anesi says it is, but we can' be certain that it is not well
versed on the questions of law brought up in cases like
that of Gilmore. American history provides ample and
terrifying evidence of what trial by public opinion does
to civil liberties. Personally, I would prefer questions
of guilt to be decided on the basis of fact and questions
of law to be decided on the basis of statutes and pre-
cedent, not by Gallup polls.
But Anesi suggests that this defeats the will of the
majority. He ignores the fact the Constitution, as duly
ratified and amended, also represents the will of the
majority, and that this will is the foundation of statu-
tory law and takes precedence over it. By invoking the
Constitution, the ACLU was not challenging the will
of the majority but appealing to it.
AT NO POINT does the writer address the actual
arguments employed by the ACLU in the Gilmore
appeals. He is not attacking the arguments used but
the very right of litigaton, by implying that the litigants
were wrong even to present their case. This right is not
only constitutionally protected, it is essential if the
legal system is ever to perform its function of inter-
preting general rules in light of specific cases, and
ferreting out laws which conflict with Constitutional
se
of
principles.
- Frankly, I find it amazing to see a conservative rail-
ing about people seeking to find redress of injustice in
court. Right-wingers spent most of the sixties ranting
about anti-war and civil rights activists who used civil
disobedience to rectify officially sanctioned wrongs.
Having denounced peaceful extra-legal means, it now
seems that at least one of their number finds that legal
means are no good either. It must be that things are so
good that advocating change is wrong no matter what
means are employed.
Anesi's views on capital punishment are no better
founded than his position on the rule of law. He defends
retribution as a justification for killing convicted of-
fenders. Certainly the victims of crime have a right to
be angry. But can an act of violence against a convict
be justified on the grounds that it satisfies the victim's.
or the public's craving for vengeance? The desire for
vengeance is a human frailty, not a virtue, and although
we may deeply sympathize with the victims, the state
should not condone or encourage retribution.
THE COLUMNIST does identify one worthwhile goal:'
the deterrence of crime. Unfortunately, his attempts to
show that capital punishment has a substantial deter-
rent effect rest on faulty evidence and weak reasoning.
It is certainly true that homicide rates have increased
greatly in the decade since the last execution before
that of Gilmore. However, without further evidence we
cannot attribute this to an alleged deterrent effect of
the death penalty, since there is no reason to think that
the rate would have been much lower with capital
punishment in force.
During the years when the penalty was in use,
states that repealed it did not experience significant
increases in crime. Anesi's "abundant proof" of a
deter'rent effect is that death row inmates don't want
to die, Gilmore being the most notable exception. The
opinion of men who have already been caught and face
certain death if capital punishment is reinstated is
irrelevant to the question of deterrence.
What matters is the effect of the death penalty on the
person who is about to commit a violent crime and
does not know if he will be caught. The deterrence
argument assumes that the potential criminal will be
rational and use forethought when he acts violently.
Police records show that most assaults occur among
people who know each other-friends or family-and
often the scene of the crime is the home. These acts are
most frequently the result of mental instability or
momentary passion, not rational calculation of the po-
tential consequences.
BUT THERE is little reason to anticipate a deterrent
effect even on those who plan a crime like armed rob-
bery, which may lead to a shooting. Except for a hand-
ful of masochists or suicidal cases, no one commits a
crime with the expectation of being caught and brought
to justice. The criminal intends to elude punishment.
and often this expectation turns out to be justified. The
essence of deterrence is not the nature of the punish-
ment, be it the death sentence or any other, but the
expectation of punishment-the certainty, rather than
the severity of punishment. Mandatory sentencing is
not necessarily the best way to increase the certainty
of punishment, but at least its advocates understand the
civil
libertieS
key to deterrence.
Finally, Anesi states that in "any legal system based
on reasonable doubt or probability, convicting innocent
people is unavoidable," and that this is "the price
we will have to pay for an effective justice system."
If the author were simply observing that humans are
fallible, his statement would be unobjectionable. But he
apparently means more than this, since he implies that
punishing innocent people is somehow due-to the prin-
ciple of reasonable doubt, not of the frailty of those
who try to apply it. The doctrine of reasonable doubt is
not the same as probability.
Our legal principles demand that where there is
uncertainty judicial decisions are not to be made on
the basis of whether or not guilt seems more pro-
bable than innocence. Any reasonable doubt is to go to
to the benefit of the accused. By so asserting. the legal
system affirms a simple but crucial principle of jus-
tice: that innocent people should not be punished,
even if a few of the guilty may get away as a
consequence. Not punishing a guilty person may be
undesirable for instrumental reasons, but it is not
a moral fault; punishing an innocent person is. If
killing criminals, along with a few inocent people, with
little or no deterrent effect on crime is what Anest
* has in mind by an "effective justice system," then I'll
settle for an ineffective one.
If all that was at stake here were Anesi's personal
opinion of the death penalty or his dedication to demo-
cratic values, his article would hardly have merited a
resnonse. But he and others with similar values are
called upon to sit on juries, and some are even elected
or appointed to the bench. Contemporary history pro-
Irides evidence'that such values may in fact; be widely
held. Although the Constitution establishes a good basis
for the protection of civil liberties, and groups like the
ACLU will continue to fight in defense of those liber-
ties, such principles must still be applied by people.
Since the Constitution can be amended; new laws can
be made, and courts take account of changing popular
conceptions and standards of behavior when they de-
find words like "reasonable," "obscene," and "due
care," public dpinion does have an effect, though not
in the way Anesi implies it should.
DE TOCQUEVILLE, a most perspective observer of,
A merican self-government, pointed out that the success
of democracy ultimately rests not on laws or institu-
tions, but on values of the governed. Do we in fact
defend the principles ofjustice and democracy which
we nominally affirm in our speech and in our Con-
stitution? Do we defend them only when it is conven-
ient and when it serves ours personal interests? Do we
demand the protection of the rights of all, miscreants
included. or only of those with whom we sympathize?
These questions only seem abstract until they are
made unmercifully real when one is accused of a crime
or seeks to use the legal system to redress an injus-
tice. Upon their answers rests the fut'e of democracy
and civil liberties in America.
Dave Burgett is a senior in political science and an
ACLU member.
Wr ins It's about time
IN THE LATEST in a series of dip-
lomatic feelers to Eastern Europe,
the Spanish government, headed by
Prime Minister Adolfo Suarez, re-
sumed relations with the Soviet Un-
ion last Wednesday. This effective-
ly closes the cold diplomatic breach
between the nations that has existed
for over 38 years, since the institu-
tion of the Franco regime directly
after the Spanish Civil War.
This caps a rather drawn-out pro-
cess undertaken by Spain to estab-
lish full relations with the Soviet
bloc. Suarez's government has also
announced the impending establish-
ment of relations with Hungary and
Czechoslovakia. Though expected for
some time (Spain and Russia already
have trade relations), the announce-
ment still is a relief to those of us
committed to Spanish freedom.
For one, this action ought to help
consolidate the Suarez government's
position. If assured of its effective-
ness in the future, this cabinet can
continue to steadily lead their coun-
try out of the neanderthalic fascism
imposed by the Franco coterie. The
Spanish people have yet to regain
all of their lost liberties and there
are still reforms to be won, but the
progress to date is continual and
appears to be headed towards Span-
ish freedom, despite the trenchant
opposition of the Francoist hangers-
ons.,
ALSO, THE OUTLAWED Spanish
Communist Party now has renew-
ed hope of gaining a certain and
legal status. Not only does it now have
a powerful advocate, but the more
secure Suarez government has less
to fear from Communist "subver-
sion." The outlawing of any politi-
cal organization grates against the
consciences' of freedom-minded indi-
viduals, and the prospect of legal
Communist activity brings the Span-
ish nation a step closer to full politi-
cal freedom.
The resumption of Spanish-Soviet
relations brings other more minor
benefits as well, such as the probable
return of $2.1 billion in gold shipped
off to Russia by Spain during itsj
civil war, with the obvious economic
benefit to recession-ridden Spain. But
over all of these aforementioned gains
from this action towers the bringing
together of the Russian and Spanish
nations. With the development of in-
ternational cooperation engendered
by, the pact, the cause of peace is
furthered a bit more, and only in
peace can prosperity and liberty ger-
minate and survive.
e;
Editorial Staff
Co-Editors-in-Chief
ANN MARIE LIPINSKI............JIM TOBIN
KEN PARSIGIAN .............Editorial Director
Managing Editors
JAY LEVIN, GEORGE LOBSENZ,
MIKE NORTON, MARGARET YAO
LOIS JOSIMOVICH .............. Art' Editor
Magazine Editors
SUSAN ADES . .. ELAINE FLETCHER
STAFF WRITERS: Gwen Barr, Susan Barry,
Brian Blanchard, Michael Beckman, Phillip
Bokovoy, Linda Brenners, Lor Carruthers, Ken
Chotiner, Eileen Daley, Ron DeKett, Lisa Fish-
er, David Goodman, Marnie Heyn, Robb Holm-
es, Michael Jones, Lani Jordan, Janet Klein.
Gregg Kruppa, Steve Kursman, Dobilas Matu-
lionis, Stu McConnell, Tom Meyer, Jenny Mil-
,er, Patti Montemurri, Tom O-Connell, Jon
Pansius, Karen Paul, Stephen Pickover, Kim
Potter, Martha Retallick, Keith Richburg, Bob
Rosenbaum, Dennis Sabo, Annmarie Schiavi,
Elizabeth Slowik, Tom Stevens, Jim Stimpson,
Mike Taylor, Pauline Toole, Mark Wagner, Sue
warner, Shelley Woison, Mike Yeliin, Laurie
Young and Barb Zahs.
Business Staff
Deborah Dreyfuss............Business Manager
Kathleen Muinern Assistant Adv. Coordinator
David Harlan ................ Finance Manager
Don Simpson..........Sales Manager
Pete Peterson..........Advertising Coordinator
Cassle St. Clair........:..Circulation Manager
Beth Stratford.......Circulation Director.
Photography Staff
PAULINE LUBENS........Chief Photographer
ALAN BILINSKY...............Picture Editor
BRAD BEN.JAMIN .......... Staff Photographer
ANDY FREEBERG..........Staff Photographer
CHRISTINA SCHNEIDER .... Staff Photographer
Sports Staff'
Bill Stieg ...................... Sports Editor
Rich Lerner. .Executive Sports Editor
Andy Glazer ......... Managing Sports Editor
Rick Bonino........... Associate Sports Editor
NIGHT EDITORS: Tom Cameron, Enid Goldman,
Kathy Henneghan, Scott Lewis, Rick Maddock,
Bob Miller, Jonn Niemeyer, Mark Whitney.
Letters
to
the
AFSC31 E
To the Daily:
Local 1583 of the American
Federation of State, County, and
Municipal Employees (AFS-
CME), AFL-CIO represents over
2300 service-maintenance work-
ers at the University of Michi-
gan. We are the dietary workers,
custodians, aides, d r i v e r s,
groundskeepers, printers a n d
others who ketep the University
going.
Despite the fact that we play
such a vital role at the Univer-
sity, our wages and benefits are
minimal. Our average wage of
less than $4.40 per hour is less
than the U.S. Government's low
budget standard for a family
of four. We have no Jental or
presecription drug coverage like
many other unionized workers
have, and we still pay for our
medical insurance if we have
family coverage. Our cost-of-liv-
ing clause in our contract has
a 15c "cap" and because of it
we lost 36c in 1974 and 1975 and
another 21c is owed us for 1976.
We too, would like to send our
kids to college but can't con-
sider it on our wages. Somc of
us are college age and would,
like to work our way through
college, but that is also an im-
possibility when we barely earn
enough to live on.
Our food service workers make
$3.75/hr. and our ustodians
make $4.15/hr. That sounds
great compared to what tempor-
ary student workers make, but
it's not so hot when compared
'I,
-1 * .
-4
THE MALE ROLE
AND IMAGE
by NIC and KAREN
TAMBORRIELLO
Editorial positions represent a
consensus.of The Daily Editorial staff.
TODAY'S STAFF:
News: Lisa Fisher, Lani Jordan, Gregg
Krupa, Ann Marie Lipinski, George
Lobsenz, Mike Norton, Elizabeth
Slowick, Margaret Yao, Michael
Yellin
Editorial: Marnie Heyn, Ken Parsigian
Arts: Lois Josimovich, Mike Taylor
Photo technician: Andy Freeberg
ENE '
j WAS CERTAIN that today would be a good day - a win-
" ning day. I had just showered with "manly" Irish Spring
Soap, "protected myself like a man" with Old Spice deodorant
and splashed on Jovan's Sex Appeal cologne so I could "attract
women at will." (Yesterday I was "peppery and potent" with
Aramis After Shave.)
I sat down to my own personal "breakfast of champions"
and began thumbing through the latest issue of Saga Magazine.
"Don't be a 97 pound weakling! You can have a super Atlas
body in 7 days!" This particular ad was oh, so familiar. It's been
running in comic books and men's magazines completely'
unchanged for at least twenty years now. I still like the part
where the 97 lb. weaking punches out the bully. (Oh, Mac!
You are a real man after all!)
Wouldn't you know it. I got so lost in the magazine that
I had to speed along a side road to get to work on. tiime.
I don't feel too bad about speeding though, especially since
I noticed an article in Playboy (Entertainment For Men) Mag-
azine called "55 Be Damned!" That was the same issue that
had the Whole Hero Driver's Catalog that first told me about
my. Super Snooper Radar Detector ($149.95), my UHF/VHF/
police band scanner ($169), and my Pearce-Simpson CB
($419.95). Like they said, "Eat your heart out, Smokey." Be-
sides, I'm driving a Charger that's Double-Tigered. (I've got
one in my tank and Tiger Paw tires.)
ONE OF THE first things I discovered at work was that I was
out of cigarettes. I was thinking of switching from Marlboro
because I saw a Winston ad that sounded sensible. "When
your taste grows up, so should your cigarette." After all,
me and those cowboys had been together in Marlboro Country
a long time and I didn't want to get in a rut., Then I saw
in big, bold letters, "How to Influence People." The main
part of the ad said, "Nothing makes a man look more per-
suasive than taking a cigar out of a tube," and since I'm
bucking for a promotion, I sent my secretary to find me ten
Royale Cigars.
THEN I CONTEMPLATED going to a movie instead. What's
playing? "Rocky" (Picture of the year), "Network" (too real
to be entertaining), "Twilight's Last Gleaming" (Possibly. I
like war movies.), "Seven Per Cent Solution" (Oh yeah. My
best friend loved it. Sword fight, Sherlock Holmes, and Sig-
mung Freud. Sounds great.) What's on campus? OH WOW!
"Maltese Falcon" is back again! Hmmm, The New York
Erotic Film Festival. All the guys who have seen it are talk-
ing about the movie about the two queers. They.seemed pretty,
upset by it. They said there was a movie just like it about
two young lesbians, but that didn't bother them because they
see that in Penthouse all the time. I wonder what all that
means?
I hate to be seen at movies alone and it's too late to call
anyone so I decided to catch up on some reading. (Gotta stay
current, ya know.) I wonder if "The Final Days" will be as
good as "AiW The President's Men"? Then there's John Dean's
"Blind Ambition," and I've been dying to read "Why Not The
Best?" Oh, yeah, here are the books Sandy got me last
Christmas: Fasteau's "The Male Machine" and Farrell's "The
Liberated Man". Maybe I'll get to them one of these days. But
right now I think I'll have a drink. I'll have some Bushmill's
Irish whiskey because "you can tell a lot about an individual
by what he pours into his glass."
IN CASE YOU haven't,.noticed, we've been quoting some
examples of how males and the masculine image are portray-
ed.
Advertising offers images of sexy and successful man. It
creates a perfectionist, aloof, impeccably dressed, "natural"
smelling; a man who smokes, drinks, and drives a distinctive
automobile. Does this sound like a man who would be easy
to like or love? Does it allow for the man to be humble or,
unassuming? Does it seem as if he would be interested in your
needs, in exchanging experiences, in being a friend?
A contrast in advertising depicts a man who is a bumbling
idiot, who wakes his wife in the middle of the night to ask
what medicine he should take for his cold, who doesn't know
how to add detergent to a washing machine, and who gets in-
digestion from overeating because he is too nice or too
gluttonous to refuse any one's cooking at the family reunion.
This man obviously has no self-respect, intelligence, or asser-
tiveness. He is regularly berated by women and children in
commercials and presented as a fool.
Another characterization, or de-characterization, is the
hero in commercials. This could be a mythical figure like the
White Knight from Ajax or the Drano plumber who is always
to the rescue. These are usually obnoxious, know-it-all men
who appear to get an inordinate amount of pleasure from
accomplishing menial tasks, the same tasks that ordinary. men
to other public insritutions
Wayne State University custod-
ians make over $1.30/hr. more
than we do and even tiny Grand
Valley State College pays its
janitors almost 40c/hr. more
than Michigan does.
It is for these reasons that we
place great importance on the
current negotiations with t h e
University. Our three-year cen-
tract expired Dac. 31, 1976. We
gave the University a full month
extension to Jan. 31. Then we
voted a second extensio1 to Feb.
15.
The University didn' even
make their first economic cffer
until recently, over a month af-
ter the expiration date of our
old contract.
Our union is as opposed row
as we have in the past to a tui-
tion hike. We do nat feel our
demands should be linked to an
increase in tuition, dorm fees,
or hospital expanses. Funds
must be redirected from bloat-
ed administrative budgets to
meet the human needs of work-
ers and students alike.
We want to continue serving
the student community. We also
hope you will s&ind by us in our
efforts to achieve dignity and
justice.
-Joel Block
President AFSCME,
Local 1583
grunts
To the Daily:
With due respect to the Daily
I must observe:
1. that the original title of
my piece (given by me) w a s
"Morality and grants" (and not
'U' profs 'intelle'-nal prostitu-
tes'?, the title given by the
Daily).
2: that nowhere did I say :hat
"I would like to know how oth-
er profs feel about 'intellectual
prostitutes'
3. that I disapprove of any form
of prostitution, including pro-
stituting my text by any oulIsh-
ing agency; includig the Daily.
--Henry Skolimowski
Professor of Humanities
College of Engineering
Editor's note:
Professor Skolimowski indica-
ted to me that he wished his
piece to be an "open challenge"
,to other profs. :asumed that
meant he was intere;ted (as I
was) in eliciting resonse from
other profs on the subject. The
reason I used he. term "intcl-
I IOU
II
W
'a
HI