Page 4-Saturday, June 2, 1979-The Michigan Daily
(.-Amnran THE WEEK IN REVIEWI

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Eighty-nine Years of Editorial Freedom
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI. 48109
Vol. LXXXIX, No. 23-S News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students
at the University of Michigan
Vietnam revisited
(R ABHORRENCE of American intervention
in the Vietnam conflict does not detract fro
our support of its veterans.
Many who fought did not believe the US.
belonged in Vietnam's civil war. But domestic op-
position to the war has inflicted incredible
emotional distress on veterans, many of whom
despised the violence and killing they were forced
to commit.
They came home villains instead of the heroes
soldiers in every other conflict were deemed. The
rewards for their suffering and sacrifice have
been nebulous and insubstantial. They served as
hit men for the government's organized crime,
and have received little gratitude or treatment for
their wounds. They spent their lives and the lives
of others for an immoral cause, and now no one is
helping them to deal with the resulting trauma.
Their physical injuries, have ranged from
illnesses caused by exposure to the toxic herbicide
Agent Orange to drug and battle-induced
maladies. The government has treated these
problems without expediency or adequacy. A
recently announced investigation into Agent
Orange's effects is just a sampling of what is
needed.
Vietnam veterans cannot tuck their experience
away in a dark corner of their minds like so many
Americans have done with the epoch. Forgetting
the painful memories is not easy, and everyone
should try to ease the unjustly induced hardship.
The time is past, but the lessons remain.
(Editor's Note: The following are excerpted from Daily editorials
from the Vietnam War era. They are reprinted to refresh the lessons
that epoch should have taught.)
Resistance
D ESPITE THE EXCITEMENT of the past few days, the
brutal war in Vietnam continues.
Today is a Day of Resistance when young men in demon-
strations across the country will turn in their draft cards. Sin-
ce the first Day of Resistance last October more than 2,000
young men have taken this dramatic step.
Many war foes understandably do not possess the spirit of
self-sacrifice necessary to emulate them. But they can demon-
strate their support by attending today's noon rally on the Diag
for local resisters.
. For the war goes on. And Resistance has come to- the
forefront of those groups fighting it. -April 3,1968
Nixon and resisters
. . . HE VERY ISSUE of a draft system in a "free" country
T where people have a "voice" in their government has
by no means been resolved.
Second, the war he (Nixon) expects these people to fight he
pledged to terminate when he took office.
And, finally, after every past war amnesty has been gran-
ted to American draft resisters and deserters. How can the
President change this precedent without a concrete differen-
tiation of the Vietnam conflict, going beyond an emotional ap-
peal for the votes of POW families? -October 18, 1972
The Last winner
S WE GO TO PRESS tonight, battles are still being fought
A in Vietnam-supposedly for the last time. Rare is the
battle when no one is hurt-when no one dies. Cynical as it
sounds, it is still a safe bet to say that some young men will
receive the dubious and unwanted distinction of being the last
one to die in the war that nobody wanted.
It }s ironic that during a period of hoop-la about lotteries,
the draft lottery was the ony one no one wanted to win, for to
win was toultimately lose, one way or another. Superficially it
sounds callous to say, but: May be (whoever "he" be) be the
last "winner." Forever. -January z, 1973

NO IRAFT ru
WE WANT J013S

f ,
/

Draft t t dments tacked onto th
protest version of the bill nowb
D RAFT LEGISLATION now House of Representati
being considered on the even more fire from leg
House floor sparked local protest both chambers.
Thursday against reinstituting a The proposal, appr
conscription system six years af- month by the Senate
ter its phase out. The 125 demon- would make possessl
strators carried banners denoun- ounce of marijuana or h
cing the draft and military spen- infraction punishabl
ding s thy machedfrom maximum $100 fine. TI
Community High School to the dment that has ca
Federal building chanting anti- greatest fury at the Cap
war slogans. allow juvenile court j
waprogas, spodole out 30-day jail tern
The protest, sponsored by sons under 18 years o:
members of the Washtenaw sn ne 8yaso
County Chapter of the Committee with an ounce or less. I
Against Registration and the amendment would
Draft (CARD), was aimed at possession of more th
high school students. They would ounces a felony, with p
be the immediate targets of four years imprisonm
renewed registration if the $2,0Efine.
legislation is enacted. SEN. JEROME HAR'
The House Armed Services inaw), who introducedI
Committee recently approved a the Senate, opposes ti
proposal to reenact military dments. Hart's aidef
registration in view of unsuc- that the bill alreadyh
cessful volunteer methods to progressive provisionc
raise ground troops. The bill calls pot-smoking in private h
for registration of all 18-year-old The amendment proH
males, but amendments also causedissent in the Hr
propose adding women and men cording to Rep. PerT
older than 18 to the list. carries an undisti
Ann Arbor, an historic arena c marijuana law record.
for anti-draft and antiwar ac- ago the House approv
tivism, once again was sidered, and eventual
distinguished on that issue. The dow n dbi veucig
nation's first selective service of- down a bill reducingp
fice sit-in occurred here in Sep- penalties, after Bulls
tember 1965. But most of the colleague were invol'
protesters were not the same minor skirmish with a
resisters of the Vietnam War. during the emotiona
The participants spanned several Last year, theHouse ag
generations, with ages ranging ted a Senate-approvedb
from 5 to 65. Some parents marijuana penalties.
brought their children, saying who has supported le
they hoped when their offspring bills in the past, prec
are adults they would not have a current bill will meet
draft to protest. fate, as the state legisls
A table was set up for writing again falters in its stet
Congress members outside the decriminalization.
Federal building to encourage "It will be a tough f
opposition to the draftegislation n "But it looks better th
due for a House vote soon. a;.-

.. t

e Senate
before the
ves drew
islators in
oved last
20 to 14,
on of an
ess a civil
e by a
he amen-
used the
itol would
judges to
ms to per-
Ad caught
The other
make
an seven
enalties of
ent and a
T (D-Sag-
the bill in
he amen-
explained
as lost a
condoning
hames.
bably will
[ouse, ac-
y Bullard
e House
inguished
Two years
ed, recon-
ly turned
possession
rd and a
ved in a
n ashtray
I debate.
ain rejec-
ill cutting
Bullard,
nient pot
dicted the
a similar
ture once
ps toward
ight," the
admitted.
zan before
ong new
spill
thought-
pill at the
l Campus
Weekend
nd prom-

pted the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) to plan an in-
spection of the facility.
Two ounces of water containing
low levels of radiation at the
Phoenix Memorial Laboratory
"apparently traveled up a vent
pipe andtleft a little puddle by the
edge of the pool (which contains
the core)," last Saturday at 5:35
a.m., according to Assistant
Reactor Manager Gary Cook.
WHILE OTHER officials em-
phasized that the spill was not
serious, Reactor Manager Bob
Burn said the incident was not
unusual.
"I would say something like
this happens about once every six
months or so. We consider it con-
tamination here, but the NCR
doesn't require us to report
anything this minor," Burn said.
"E WLLverify all this with
VV'an inspection at the site,"
said Duane Boyd, section chief of
the NRC'S Region 3. He also said
an inspector will arrive in Ann
Arbor within several weeks.
Because the incident was repor-
ted by an outside source, Boyd
explained, the NRC is obligated
to investigate.
While the radioactive water
splashed on the man conducting
the experiment, it was quickly
washed off. A contaminated pair
of jeans and a shoe were stored
for later examination.
A COMMUNICATION break-
down between reactor officials
and University security guards
apparently caused the guards to
believe the leak was more
dangerous than officials claim.
"Somebody at the laboratory
didn't relay the information ap-
propriately," said University
Director of Safety Walter
Stevens.
Nuclear Engineering- Pro-f.
William Kerr, director of the
Phoenix Project, said the reactor
itself was 'not involved in the in-
cident.
Burn also said the Phoenix
reactor has not had a serious ac-
cident in its nearly 21 years of
operationn.
Week-in-Review' was written by
Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Slowik and
Editorial Director Judy Rakowsky.

Pot penalties
ANOTHER ATTEMPT by the
state legislature to reduce
pot possession penalties was
criticized last week by some law-
makers for provisions that are
still too harsh. And two amen-

representatives."
Radioactive
A MINOR BUT
provoking water s
nuclear reactor on Nort
over Memorial Day
spoiled an experiment a